Deeping St. Nicholas
Description and Travel
Deeping St. Nicholas (formerly Deeping Fen) is both a village and parish only 87 miles north of London and 14 miles north of Peterborough. The parish is bounded on the west side, in part, by the River Welland. The town of Spalding is neighbor 5 miles to the northwest and Crowland parish lies to the southwest. The area is around 15,000 acres of flat fenland, drained by many small canals, including the South Drove Drain.
If you are planning a visit:
- By automobile, the A16 trunk road runs through the village itself.
- See our touring page for more sources.
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Census
- Prior to formation as a Civil Parish, this extra-parochial place was in the Bourne Registration District.
- Starting in May, 1862, the parish was in the Deeping St. Nicholas sub-district of the Spalding Registration District.
- In an 1891 redistricting of sub-districts, Deeping Saint Nicholas parish became a sub-district in the Spalding Registration District.
- Check our Census Resource page for county-wide resources.
- The table below shows census piece numbers, where known:
| Census Year |
Piece Numbers |
|---|---|
| 1841 | H.O. 107 / 606 |
| 1851 | H.O. 107 / 2096 |
| 1861 | R.G. 9 / 2319 |
| 1871 | R.G. 10 / 3325 |
| 1891 | R.G. 12 / 2564 - 2565 |
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Church History
- The Anglican parish church is dedicated to St. Nicholas.
- St. Nicholas was built in 1845 with an octagonal spire. It was extensively altered in 1891.
- The church seats about 350.
- There is a photograph of St. Nicholas Church on the Wendy Parkinson Church Photos web site.
- Here is a photo of the church, taken by Ron Cole (who retains the copyright):
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Church Records
- The Anglican parish register dates from 1846.
- The LFHS has published several marriage and burial indexes for the West Elloe Deanery to make your search easier.
- Check our Church Records page for county-wide resources.
- A Primitive Methodist chapel was opened here in 1867. For information and assistance in researching this chapel, see our non-conformist religions page.
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Civil Registration
- Prior to formation as a Civil Parish, this extra-parochial place was in the Bourne Registration District.
- Starting in May, 1862, the parish was in the Deeping St. Nicholas sub-district of the Spalding Registration District.
- In an 1891 redistricting of sub-districts, Deeping Saint Nicholas parish became a sub-district in the Spalding Registration District.
- Check our Civil Registration page for sources and background on Civil Registration which began in July, 1837.
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History
- Deeping Fen was drained in 1845. The parish lies below sea level.
- The village had a station on the East Lincolnshire branch of the Great Northern railway called Littleworth.
- Visit the History of Deeping Fen provided by Alan Stanier.
- You might be interested in this bit of local hisotry from an 1861 Thunderstorm.
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Maps
- The national grid reference is TF 2115.
- You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer #248 map, which has 2.5 inches to the mile scale.
- See our Maps page for additional resources.
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Names, Geographical
- The name Deeping is from the Old English Deoping, or "Deep or Low place". In the 1086 Domesday book, the village is given as Estdeping.
[A. D. Mills, "A Dictionary of English Place-Names," Oxford University Press, 1991].
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Politics and Governance
- This place was an ancient extra-parochial area in county Lincoln.
- The parish was created in 1846, after the land had been drained, and was formed into a Civil Parish in May, 1862.
- The St. Nicholas parish was largely in the ancient Elloe Wapentake in the South Holland district in the parts of Holland.
- A portion of the parish was in the ancient Ness Wapentake in the South Holland district in the parts of Holland.
- For today's district governance, visit the South Holland District Council site.
- Records indicate that the parish was originally formed in 1846 and reformed in 1856, when it was divided into three townships, North, Middle and East. This "divided" mentality persisted, partly because part of the parish traditionally is in the Kesteven district and part in the Holland district of the county.
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Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.
- As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, the parish became part of the Spalding Poor Law Union.
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Population
Year Inhabitants 1831 790 1871 1,335 1881 1,030 1891 1,325 1901 1,255 1911 1,439 1921 1,540
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Schools
- A School Board of 5 members was formed in March, 1874 to serve this parish and Deeping St. James.
- Deeping High Bank School in the East Township was built in 1875.
- Littleworth School was built in 1875.
- Tongue End School in the North township was built in 1876.
- For more on researching school records, see our Schools Research page.
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Last updated on 23-February-2012
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